Labor Days

Amazon.com
Aesop Rock doesn't try to contend with rap music's commercial villains. Instead, on Labor Days, his first release for the Def Jux label, Aesop ignores the mainstream and displays an unshakable confidence rarely seen in independent hip-hop. Although a staccato, Dadaist delivery is his trademark, subsequent listens reveal his storytelling gifts and rhyme structures to be thick with purpose. There's also a sensitivity only hinted at on Float, his first mass release. On "Daylight," he informs, "Life is not a bitch / Life's a beautiful woman," while "No Regrets" tells the life story of a woman who only communicated through her drawings until her death in a nursing home. Thanks to production by Omega One, Blockhead, and Aesop himself, Labor Days is built upon strings, loping bass lines, nodding beats, and expert programming. Surely, this is a fine example of hip-hop's formidable underground. --Arno Kazarian

From URB Magazine
There's a serious bifurcation underway in indie hip-hop, and if we aren't careful, some journalist is going to slap genre tags on it and we'll have two distinct movements on our hands. On one side there's the "skills, skills, skills" camp that raps mostly about rap itself (Lootpack, Cali Agents), and on the other, there are those who rap about nothing at all, or at least about subjects that haven't been deemed worthy of inclusion in rap before (Anticon, Slug).

As a prime example of the latter, New York's Lower East Sider Aesop Rock uses the word "rhyme" a total of three times over the 61 minutes of Labor Days, "wack" once, and "MC" and "mic" never. He says "hip-hop" twice, and - suggesting that he might have a bone to pick with his battle-mongering counterparts across the fence - they appear in the following oblique diss: "Next time you want to be a hero/try saving something other than hip-hop/and maybe hip-hop will save you from the pit stop."

Often his rangeless voice and diction are as accessible as a meeting of the World Trade Organization ("Walking like a jabberwalkie scalping a one-way pair of tickets to shadowboxing"), with whole stanzas dropping from his lips in monolithic slabs at a cadence faster than most listeners can process. Labor Days is an overwhelming experience, and sometimes one wonders if the frustration is worth it. But after five or so years of transparent battle rhymes and industry shop-talk masquerading as content, a little confusion might be what saves less-than-commercial hip-hop from stagnation.

Darren Keast

Labor Days,Aesop Rock,Definitive Jux,Alternative Rap,Pop,Rap & Hip-Hop,Underground Rap

Average customer rating: Not for everyone but one of my favorites. Why friends can always be trusted for recommendations W3rd. The best place to go outside of mainstream classic albums 2 cents

Labor Days Aesop Rock Manufacturer: Definitive Jux ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music Experimental Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music Pop Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Float Daylight EP Bazooka Tooth Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives The Cold Vein ASIN: B00005O4UY Release Date: 2001-09-14

Tracks:

1. Labor
2. Daylight
3. Save Yourself
4. Flashflood
5. No Regrets
6. One Brick
7. The Tugboat Complex Pt.3
8. Coma
9. Battery
10. Boombox
11. Bent Life
12. The Yes And Y'all
13. 9-5ers Anthem
14. Shovel

Amazon.com

Aesop Rock doesn't try to contend with rap music's commercial villains. Instead, on Labor Days, his first release for the Def Jux label, Aesop ignores the mainstream and displays an unshakable confidence rarely seen in independent hip-hop. Although a staccato, Dadaist delivery is his trademark, subsequent listens reveal his storytelling gifts and rhyme structures to be thick with purpose. There's also a sensitivity only hinted at on Float, his first mass release. On "Daylight," he informs, "Life is not a bitch / Life's a beautiful woman," while "No Regrets" tells the life story of a woman who only communicated through her drawings until her death in a nursing home. Thanks to production by Omega One, Blockhead, and Aesop himself, Labor Days is built upon strings, loping bass lines, nodding beats, and expert programming. Surely, this is a fine example of hip-hop's formidable underground. --Arno Kazarian

Customer Reviews:

Not for everyone but one of my favorites........2006-09-11

Aesop Rock is most definitely not for everyone. However, I think everyone should give labor days a listen it is one of my favorite hiphop albums of all time. He will never be famous because his flow is too dense. Some people tend to dis him for this because its not easy to understand. By that same logic everyone should read hardy boys and give up on James Joyce or Milton because theyre hard to understand. People like to take snipits of his lyrics and go what sense does this make? Well maybe its nonsensical for the point of being nonsensical or more than likely its an obscure pop culture reference. Ive found that his most off the wall remarks that Ive managed to figure out are usually pop culture things.

Again there will always be hiphop fans even underground ones who never dig Aesop Rock and thats fine. I myself love Aesop and the Def Jux label along with Wutang and Jayz. But if you want to hear something different I highly reccomend labor days. The production was mostly done by blockhead and many of the beats featured on this album are tremendous. I personally love the beat on Bent-Life featuring C-Rayz Walls.

Why friends can always be trusted for recommendations.......2006-08-19

I wouldn't have known about this album unless it was for a friend who suggested it to me. I find the lyrics good, the rhythms tight, and the music interesting.

W3rd........2006-04-17

I love this cd, it plays at my job atleast 3 or 4 times a week, I could listen to it more at home too and often do. Anyone into hip hop should own this cd.

The best place to go outside of mainstream classic albums.......2006-04-11

Aesop Rock's Labor Days is really as good as the hype and is one of the best regions of rap hip-hop to visit once you have done all the classics. Aesop Rock not only has the tunes but has some really advanced lyrics rolling off his tongue. Very high-end rap and quite clean when compared to most. This is better than good, its inspiring and with an important message other than being a hard gangsta'.

2 cents.......2006-03-23

I gave Labor Days a 5/5

Aesop Rock is my single favorite artist out right now and Labor Days was the first album I ever listened to of his...

Labor Days sat on my playlist for about 6 months, given to me by a friend to check out, never really did... Occasionally I'd hit a song on random, but I didn't bother looking at the artist or anything as it played, I have a large collection of music and I never really pay attention to what is playing if I'm working. After awhile, I started humming the beats and playing some of the lyrics in my head from `No Regrets' until I decided to hunt down the album in its entirety from my CD collection. I eventually started adding songs like `Daylight' `Save Yourself' and `Battery' to my normal playlists... eventually buying Float, Bazooka Tooth, and the Appleseed EP...

Point I'd like to make, is that Aesop, for me, was an acquired taste... took me a long time to stand his voice... even a longer time to get into his less mainstream-sounding stuff... I now listen to everything he has...

Its hard to classify Ace Rock as even an underground rapper, because if you honestly listen to his music, its unlike anything you've ever heard out there today...

I listen to mostly every kind of genre out there, but never really had a feel for anything considered `underground' on the hip-hop scene... From Aesop, I've started getting a taste for Eyedea and Abilities, Slug, Atmosphere, etc... and I feel that he has broaden my musical taste to a degree.

Aesop Rock is not for everyone... obviously... Its not `normal' by too many means, if any... Very few of his songs appeal to the masses...

However, his monotone voice, intricate beats, and unique lyrical style are a credit to his overall production...

He is `intellectual' lyrically... I use the word lightly because of the heated debate on this issue... I cannot agree with either of the two extremes; those being the claim that he just strings together big words and those whom claim that he is a lyrical mastermind.... I can say his lyrics do offer something deeper than your normal hip-hop... Getting lost in his lyrics is possible, especially at first... To this day not every line of every song makes sense to me, but something in the way he strings everything together makes sense on some level that I'm not really willing to dissect ;) To claim he is just opening Webster and having a field day is unfair to say, especially considering I've never had a problem with the words he says...my issues are of what it pertains to.... I'm not even going to bothering arguing `smarter' rappers... Some of the comments are just flames because they didn't like the music...

You are allowed to not enjoy music... Go ahead and give the album a 1/5 after not liking the first song you listen to once (or the 10th song the 10th time, whichever), but posting long comments attacking reviewers and the artist itself rather than critiquing the album itself is just pointless...

Truth of the matter is... Ace Rock is gonna piss people off... I've tried to have other people listen to some of his stuff and I've only ever had one person enjoy his stuff... It's a lonely world as an Aesop fan... His music takes understanding and time, but it is rewarding....

Labor Days is probably the easiest of his albums to listen to...

Personally I give 5/5s to every single one of the songs on the album, but if you are just starting off, `No Regrets' `Daylight' and `Save Yourself' are some of the easier songs to get into as well as some of the best songs on the album itself....

All of the songs on this album follow the theme of... obviously... work... Exploring the drive of artists and the hearts of blue-collar workers...

Put it all together and you have a recipe for success...

If you are looking for something new and different from the normal hip-hop scene, I encourage you to check it out, if just to hear something you might not on the radio...

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